#have had the soup 2 write this if I didn't see the post

[lialuvsaven]

Icymi but also a little rambling about stuff I added here ( let me have this, I've spent more time w a dictionary writing this than I have in my last two years of highschool) and also bc I thought more writing this than I did any essay in my academic life 😔😔😔😔

1. The parchment shaped wall clock was supposed to be based on. This curio. I was so entraces by its design I pictured how something similar would look like as a clock (and yes this is a curio but it's weird looking enough that you can find it in some empty cardboard boxes or in the trash)

2. The soup made with nettle leaves- is inspired from Cignidaki zumi— an actual Romani dish, soup made with stinging nettle leaves. I found a bunch of romani recipes but this one really caught my eye bc we have stinging nettle plant here I didn't know u can eat them until now.

3. The pink diamond bit is from the jade's timeline thing hsr posted a while ago ofc, I wanted to see a follow up on it and didn't get it so I made my own reality. I don't think finding out his birthday would take jade much effort bc A. The reports mention the avgin extinction being on their religious festival kakava and. His name is kakavasha. B. But other than that, checking his files (esp in the beginning) I like to think the system is advanced enough that it automatically concerts various dating systems and such (they're modern Enough to have the synesthesia beacon)

4. The corundum stone (god BLESS finding a stone similar to his eyes took YEARS OFF MY LIFE) it has other colors? Don't worry. Hsr has better gemstones. We can't even get the diamonds from Uranus.

5. I have.... negative feelings about jade, if you couldn't tell. I tried not to make her like a completely evil lady, but given how she did call him to "talk" post penacony main quest in canon (it had layers too) I like to think between his whole thing in penacony and later actions she thought he might need a reminder. And shed know to pick a good time.

6. virtually no way for the reader to know his personal info if he doesn't give them UNLESS she knows someone like Jade. Had they asked topaz, she'd tell them that he doesn't like it (bc the stonehearts' birthdays and such are an occasion for a party/dinner/ etc, upper class socializing stuff (that is important to the business and cause) but aventurine doesn't do THAT even tho he does throw those necessary parties anyway. So it's obvious that he. Doesn't like celebrating it at least if nothing else. Later scrapped that cuz.... that's a lot of thinking

7. I thought of adding the catcakes bc cats (pets) are a great source of comfort for So many people. And they're incredibly good at sensing human emotions. And (canonically) they're said to be as intelligent as a 6 year old so. The catcakes remind him of food when aventurine is lost in his thoughts (and it doesn't feel like it's pleasant), to distract him and direct him towards a task. They all gather around him when he starts drinking bc while they likely don't understand the concept of drinking well they DO know he's distressed, so keeping him company to help him. They'd be a little freaked out to see him emotional I imagine, bc that's not something they ever saw (hence the immediate nervous attempt at comforting by nuzzling into him) I looked up how real cats act to write this and now I want a kitty do bad 😞😔

I also like. Didn't keep them in focus at all bc like....he's not in the headspace to think about them much. But they keep showing up bc that IS his family, too .

8. Dismissing a comforting smell as a potion seems something he'd do. There's actually an all good potion ( consumable) in hsr and while THAT one didn't end up in the market there's def similar stuff already. I imagine something that makes hospital food feel comforting for the patients would be popular, hence that conclusion

9. Kakavasha's shoes . I actually thought they were different when I wrote this but later realized that they seem ....to be modified. Mended maybe? But yeah. Only a pair of shoes

10. His mother smells of creosote bush. This species is found in the deserts of southwestern North America, and is said to smell of the desert rain. For a child who was blessed by rain on his birth day I think his mother likely smelt of rain, too.

11. I wanted to add in a scene with Aventurine's secretary to show she really NEVER looks at his eyes because they're. Usually seen as freaky and odd by people. And paired with the discomfort itself, she'd naturally be more careful to not do that to not offend him (him being her boss and. Because he knows how everyone sees them.) not like that's what HE wants, but what she assumes. But I decided to scrap that lol

12. Also he only managed to cry that much bc he was inebriated lol I don't think he'll ever cry like that otherwise (plus his house is empty so he doesn't have to hide it(

And I wrote down about him still remembering the painful memories with his family (while he tries to forget the extinction event desperately) bc he needs to Preserve their memory and spent like 10 minutes thinking about it preservation.... preservation....

But anyway that's about it!!

Happy Birthday, Aventurine!!

“Aventurine always tries not to remember. He's never synced the Sigonian calendar system to check the date in trailblaze calendar, never makes the mistake of dwelling on the memories surrounding this day— even when he's too drunk to remember his own name. Done everything possible to not acknowledge it; because this day feels like nothing but a curse to him.

Unfortunately, Jade has now ensured that he never gets to forget his birthday, again.”

Pairing: Aventurine x reader

Tags: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Comfort in the end to compensate for everything else ❤️ Reader is not physically present in the fic (they're not dead it's ok)

wc: 3.3k

Aventurine was abruptly interrupted by a knock on the door just as the sun began to slant westward.

With a sigh, he puts down the pen and glances at the wall clock. The hands on the parchment-shaped monstrosity read 1 pm, but his eyes are drawn back to the purple tongue protruding from its massively extended mouth. Seriously, where does Stelle find these items? "An ugly, purple parchment shaped wall clock that looks like it's ready to eat people"— isn't something most people would think to give him, to say the least. But that's the thing—it was Stelle.

She claimed to have found it during one of her "excavations." And even though Miss March 7th did her best to keep her friend from going into further details, stepping on Stelle's toes right in front of him and giving her a sidelong glance, as if he wouldn't notice, he could tell what kind of "excavations" would turn up something like this. Not like he minds the origins of this gift, however. Gifts from friends are few and far to come by, especially ones who actually tolerate him. Not to mention, Stelle likely sincerely believes that it's a cool gift, which is why it has replaced the diamond-embedded wall clock on his wall.

His musings are interrupted by a second knock, which, like the first one, reverberates once around the room before fading away in embarrassment. "Come in." He announces, reclining back in his seat and looking at the door with expectation in his eyes. It was not uncommon for his secretary to appear randomly in his office, constantly fussing over yet another minor issue. He believed it was her; at least, his itinerary showed he didn't have any guest visits today. Maybe it was time to replace assistants—the new hire is clearly not on the same wavelength as him. But he'd only recently had Topaz yell at him for changing staff so frequently; he'd prefer not to tell her that her choice was horribly disappointing just yet.

With a tiny bag bearing a brand he is all too acquainted with, the secretary enters the office. She keeps her gaze fixed on the floor the entire time, hence doesn't notice when her supervisor raises an eyebrow at the sight of his favorite jewelry brand. "Sir," she says in a low, somewhat flat voice, akin to that of a news reporter. "Earlier, a staff of Madam Jade stopped by. You have a present."

A grin appears on Aventurine's face, followed by a joyful chuckle. With how busy work has been lately, he'd almost forgotten when he asked Jade for a pink diamond, as has Jade apparently, seeing how long it's taken for her to send this. His request was a joke, of course, only meant to irritate Topaz. But he wasn't surprised either; Jade always takes good care of her weaponry. "Ahhh, no wonder!" He chirps and presses his palms together. "She must've finally found some generosity in her heart, hm?" He muses, and his assistant can only stand there stoically. He waves her off as she places the bag on his table and departs with an unnecessary low bow, never looking at his eyes once. As always.

When the secretary has left the room, he opens the bag, humming as he removes the box and gift card. Jade's handwriting is distinctive: prim and precise cursive that resembles a font.

"Happy birthday, Aventurine. This jewel would suit you far better than the pink diamond you asked for, don't you think?" — Jade

Kakavasha freezes. His birthday, she says, but she'd need to align the standard calendar system to the Sigonian one to find that out. She sent him a…..….a gift? For his birthday? 

Is this a fucking joke?

The box reveals a chunk of corundum. Raw, uncut, pink and blue hues all over. Shades way too close to his eyes, and it doesn't take a gemologist to tell that Jade had done her searching thoroughly to obtain this. A jewel the color of his eyes, the color of Avgin eyes, neatly wrapped in a box for….to send ..what sort of message, exactly? Oh Avgin, never forget who you were before I found you—unpolished and undeserving. forget your name, but never your roots.  

The note is crumpled and thrown in the trashcan, while the corundum and its box are hastily and carelessly pushed back into the bag. Really, so typical of Jade, he scoffs as he tosses the godforsaken bag into a random drawer, never to be seen again. 

Kakavasha— no, Aventurine always tries not to remember. He's never synced the Sigonian calendar system to check the date in trailblaze calendar, never makes the mistake of dwelling on the memories surrounding this day— even when he's too drunk to remember his own name. Done everything possible to not acknowledge it; because this day feels like nothing but a curse to him.

Unfortunately, Jade has now ensured that he never gets to forget, again. 

In any case, Aventurine concludes that it is not good for him to worry about this too much. Yes, he can just forget about the corundum. Yes, he is able to forget how it resembled Avgin eyes. Yes, he can also forget that Jade most likely sent this to "keep him in check" following the stunt he did in Penacony. But it was a mistake on his part to not see something coming. She had done this before, and it would not be the last time. He smiles at his own reflection in the bathroom mirror, composed, shrewd, and calculated. Since a mirror has the freedom of choice, it does not return his smile.

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By the time the car comes to a stop in front of his house, Aventurine is exhausted. His chauffeur unlocks the door for him, and he makes his way to the elevator. Yet he's interrupted again— of course, because it's a cursed day, and Aventurine has to restrain himself from scowling at the gateman, who stands in front of him wearing an anxious expression. "Sir, your friend had visited earlier to drop off something."

He raises an eyebrow and is about to inquire when he notices the bag the man is carrying. Without saying anything further, he simply takes the bag. You are the only one who'd own a dumb clockie bag and the only one who'd ever drop things off at his place.

When he steps in, his three catcakes meow loudly to greet him, and feels somewhat grateful for it. Today was just too exhausting, after all. He understands what this is about, based on the fact that you always give him gifts in person. Why, of all days, would you consider dropping it off today? And with no advanced notice- completely unlike you. How annoying, did Jade really have to do this too? He's never disclosed his birthday to you, so you probably coerced her into telling you, and she was glad to oblige, given you are of value to her.

Aventurine doesn't realize he's been standing in the kitchen for a long time until Spade begins massaging its fluffy body on his legs. He is surrounded by his three catcakes, who are all staring up at him expectantly. The message is crystal clear: We Want Food. He moves swiftly to get their food bowls, chuckling to himself before setting your lunchbox on the counter, sort of as an afterthought. At least they'll be able to go to bed well fed tonight. 

After serving them dinner, he leaves the kitchen carrying a bottle of wine, hoping to spend the remainder of the evening crashing on the couch. He can just leave everything else for tomorrow. The benefit of drinking is that it can temporarily impair your ability to sense emotions. He only needs a short term fix, after all. Come tomorrow, he'll take hangover pills, and walk out of this house as Aventurine of the stratagems again— undoubtedly.

He turns on a random B-grade movie, prepared to drink the night away. And he does precisely that—he pushes down thoughts of how his childhood friends, whose features now misty in his memories, would react if they were to see him. With another shot, he pushes down recollections of his mother's cooking—the special meals for the Kakava—and his birthday. Another to accept the now-blurry face of his sister in his memory as the only proof of her existence. Another to forget the clay dolls she'd made for him, on the last birthday kakavasha got to celebrate, that were broken when he had to run for his life. And one more shot, and another, till he's forgotten everything; till he's numb and emotionless.

Feeling empty and hollow is far worse than anything else, and being unable to cry isn't as pleasant as he thought it'd be. But in his lavish home, where gold abounds in every nook and cranny, he has little reason for tears. Money may not be able to buy him happiness, as he is well aware, but it certainly does spare him from ugly tears unfit for his visage. Maybe that's why he hasn't cried in a while, or perhaps he has simply lost his soul somewhere along the way. He stays on the couch till 3 am, accompanied by his pets. He pretends not to see the troubled looks they shoot at him, whispered words passed between them that are clearly about him. By the time he decides to rest for the night, he is fatigued, sluggish, and barely keeping it together.

When he gets up to grab a glass of water from the kitchen, Ace makes a protesting noise before promptly shutting up. Catcakes are smart creatures, and they understand him better than most individuals in his life (or maybe the difference lies in care) His throat is dry, and ice cold water from the freezer provides enormous relief. However, the respite is taken away from him by the crackling lightning, loud as a whip, pulling out memories up to the forefront of his mind again. Of the lightning without the rain, of Sigonia-IV. The drumming of the thunder is largely hidden by the concrete walls, so it isn't as hard on the ear—but it aches a lot more than it did before. Aventurine sneers to himself, dismissing the idea as ludicrous. As if.

The second time the thunder sizzles, Aventurine has to take a sharp breath and grip the countertop to steady himself. It sounds like playing dead in the bleeding streams of Sigonia-IV, like the booming cackle of the mocking thunder. Had he been an insolent child, just a little more doubtful than he already was, he'd believe it was Mama Fenge herself laughing at her so called "blessed child". The thunder sounds similar, but it's not the same. No, because this is still Aventurine and he's still here and those are someone else's memories, forgotten and buried in sand.

Aventurine sighs.

Drinking too much has never done any good to him.

Just as he is ready to leave the kitchen, he notices the lunchbox sitting the counter out of the corner of his eye. Oh, right. He hadn't even touched it. A distraction doesn't seem bad now, though. If he wants to fabricate a plausible lie about eating the food, he would at least need to know what kind of food you sent. If the mental image of your frown after discovering he never even looked at what you sent is what gives him the final push , he would never admit it.

The lunchbox has a plains bear cub logo: you've always been a sucker for cute things. He sets aside the little note attached for later this time, preferring to taste the dinner first. It looks like you chose to make him some kind of soup. Insulated lunchboxes are a blessing— because it's surely been well over half a day since you made it, yet it's still warm. While the presentation is relatively simple, it smells strangely comforting— effect of some potion? He's heard of those, but they're usually used for sick patients, no? Other than that, this is the first homemade meal he's having in a….while. Not that it matters. Aventurine isn't picky, and while the leafy greens are unfamiliar to him, he believes he can handle at least a tablespoon.

Even the largest avalanche can be triggered by the smallest of things. Just one spoonful, and yet it's enough to make his world stop.

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The dry, broken soil scraped against his bare feet, producing little clouds of dust in its wake. His strides were light and rapid, nearly tripping over himself with excitement and giddiness. Just a little more, and he'll reach the finish line. Even the Sun's typical glare felt kind today; warm and tender against his tanned skin. Jumping over the homemade hurdles, he reaches the finish line far ahead of his friends. They protest and pout, and he taunts them with the biggest smile on his face. The soles of his feet feel slightly sore from running barefoot, but Kakavasha wouldn't risk destroying his only pair of shoes for a game. 

When he hears his sister's voice calling for him, he rushes to embrace her and buries his face in her apron. His mother once told him that the Avgins all possess lovely voices, but Kakavasha believes his sister's is the best, especially when she laughs.

"And when will you listen to me and stop running around in the middle of the day, hm?" She pinches his nose and uses her apron to wipe the dirt off his face. Kakavasha beams at her with no regrets, proudly displaying the gap between his teeth. Once kakavasha had said his goodbyes to his friends, they walk hand in hand towards their tent.

There, his mother welcomes them with a warm embrace that smells like creosote bush and desert rain. “My darling," she coos, putting his small hands in her larger ones, rough from labour. "I remember you promised to be on time for lunch last time?" He grins cheekily, vowing not to do it again. (He's a repeat offender, but he knows that his mother and sister can't stay upset at him for long.)

His mother laughs, and tells him to tidy up before eating. Kakavasha's tummy is grumbling by the time he returns, and he finds the mats his sister laid down to sit on. The two siblings sit next to each other, chatting and giggling as they wait for their mother. She serves them a pot of hot soup with nettle leaves and lentils, just the way Kakavasha prefers it. He's overjoyed; quickly finishing his prayers before digging in. Kakavasha is a growing boy, and that's proved again when he finishes his bowl before his family.

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The soup she'd served him back then wasn't anything lavish; just a simple soup with local herbs and nettle leaves in a broth that smelt so uniquely of hers. His mama may have had a knack for cooking, but due to a lack of opportunities and resources, she never got to demonstrate her abilities. Compared to that, your food is much finer, and while excellent, it lacks the warmth of his mother's hands.  

Nevertheless, he can't resist taking another spoonful and quickly putting it in his mouth because the familiarity is so, so palpable. He recalls that his sister wanted him to eat better, so she gave him half of her portion after he finished his. His mother then gave his sister half of her portion, as they are Both growing children. All of a sudden, the bickering, the laughs, and their voices are as plain as day in his mind. He can't fully recall the glitter in his sister's eyes or the dimple on his mother's cheek, but it's clearer than any other memory he had of them, that's for sure. 

Aventurine can't stop crying, even if he wants to. Trying to halt the choking sobbing is fruitless, as is trying to figure out what's going on. He picks up the little message with shaking hands, hoping—praying—that it will help. You'll make it make sense. Somehow.

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“Dear Aventurine, I hope you have a wonderful birthday!!!!”  

Written in thin, flowing, rounded letters that are noticeably cleaner than your actual handwriting. You undoubtedly put a lot of effort into each letter you wrote. Aventurine was correct in assuming you found out his birthday through Jade, as you have written it here. "Buying a gift for you seems…a little perfunctory," you said, "so I've settled with cooking you something myself."

"And if the dish tastes familiar (which I hope it does) then yes, you've guessed it right— it's a traditional Avgin dish."

The perfumed ink is thicker here, a few ink blots from where you've likely paused to think, go over each sentence in your head before writing them down.

You mention finding the Avgin dishes by reading some kind of research paper on Sigonian culture and food, but Aventurine isn't sure he can believe that. You wrote, "I was fortunate enough," yet chance alone wouldn't get you something like that. Sure, maybe some doctoral candidate was crazy enough to choose a dead planet and its deader tribes to write about, but finding that paper would be too difficult. The biggest issue, however, is that Aventurine believes this dish should not and cannot exist. The stinging nettle leaves his mother used are no longer available, and while he didn't know much about cooking at the time, he was aware that all of the spices he knew were almost extinct. He's looked enough to know.

"I'll be honest, I had some trouble locating the ingredients for it and had to swap the majority of them because I couldn't find them. I really wanted to bring back a familiar feeling, even if it tastes very different from how you remember it. Plus, it's the thought that counts, right?"

In contrast to the light-hearted language, your writing is slightly wobbly and darker here, and Aventurine wonders if you realise your emotions seep through every single one of your actions, laid bare for the world to see.

Noting the disappearance of their owner, curious, the catcakes peep into the kitchen are immediately alarmed to see their owner sitting on the counter stool, sobbing and clutching a box. Spade, unsure of what to do, nuzzles it's head on Aventurine's leg, while the others meow in an attempt to calm him down. Aventurine hasn't sobbed in a long time—he can't remember how to anymore. His body shakes with each ragged and broken sob, sounding shattered and damaged, but he can't stop.

"I hope it brings you fond memories" is what you wrote down, but are you aware of the full impact of what you did for him? Most likely not. Aventurine cherishes all of his memories, including the unpleasant ones: as long as it involves his family. His misery knows no bounds, but he's only had a few years with his sister, and even fewer with his mother. So even the saddest memories are never forgotten, so he can preserve as much of them as possible. They live through his memories, after all. 

Even when plain, his mother's meals provided him with more warmth than anything else back then. To feel that warmth decades later is a blessing he can't repay— but a blessing nonetheless. He doesn't have many memories like this one either, gentle and happy, contrary to the endless memories of struggling. He remembers their love so vividly right now, feels it so strongly, alongside yours— that he has no choice but to revel in it.

(Come tomorrow , when he's sober, puffy-eyed from crying and not as vulnerable, he'll have trouble figuring your reasoning. But for now, he'll be fine. Tonight, he'll go to sleep feeling loved. Tonight, his pets will cuddle him to sleep. Tonight, he'll dream of a Sigonia Only he knows.)

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A/N: I'm honestly still so embarrassed about this bc I have an idea but can't execute it like I want to and 🫠🫠 As always, comments and reblogs are really appreciated!! Thank you for reading <3

[ranboo5]

Anyway [stretches] under a cut because it got Long as usual; tl;dr at the bottom

The thing abt c!Ranboo is his motivation and his actions don’t always align and that is bc of the eternal nature of c!Ranboo as living in a society and Balancing Priorities. He is always self-compromising in its relationships w/ others; more often than not when it agrees to do smth with someone it is doing it not bc it believes in the cause but because it has priorities it needs to mitigate. (Ranboo has not believed in any of the causes put forth by Someone Else in their life the closest they get is the Syndicate and even there it’s only reassured to bc it is reassured it can share opinions)

This starts off wayyyy early with it agreeing to help grief despite not really having a personal reason to do it, and with it collaborating w/ New L’Manberg even through things like the Butcher Army. It consistently does not want to be seen as In Opposition. It works with Tmmy and Techno in large part bc it doesn’t want to come off as opposed 2 them, and bc it has personal investment (+guilt) in Tmmy. Ranboo will literally act like this

- as self preservation - out of a desire to help+spare the feelings of ppl it doesn’t trust to negotiate with - especially later, so it can try to mitigate the parties it’s collaborating w/ -- if he’s involved in the effort, he has more traction 2 attempt to mitigate anything terrible it might do (even when most of the time he doesn’t manage to do this)

This is part of why he initially joined th Syndicate and this is why he worked with Wilbur over th course of the burger arc. Some combination of this is also why he works w/ Dream, smth that is frequently overlooked in Ranboo Analysis; Ranboo volitionally[1] collaborates w/ Dream despite, obviously, having a lot of Active Dislike for Dream and what he is doing, out of a combination of a) he would not want 2 frame himself as Opposed To Dream in any interaction w/ Dream, b) he is generally sympathetic and pitying, c) ideological agreement w/ some aspects of Dream’s goals, and d) desire to mitigate/stay close to Dream. Ranboo keeps his friends close and enemies closer 2 some degree

His relationship w/ Tbbo is not an exception to this it is part of the pattern. It’s just one that has much more present, personal, and consistent stakes. Ranboo complies w/ Tbbo the same way he complies w/ the Syndicate when he’s worried they’re threatening, the same way he complies w/ NLM, the same way he complies w/ Wilbur in the burger arc, th same way he complies with Tmmy early on, the same way he complies w/ Dream offscreen. This is a Known Tactic Ranboo pursues; their project is ultimately of survival and compassion and survival and compassion are both things they have to sacrifice to keep

Tbbo is a unique priority to Ranboo almost in the same way all of the aforementioned r slightly different, unique priorities; in Tubbo’s case, Ranboo is extremely invested in keeping Tbbo safe from others and from Tbbo’s own self with a particular fervor for a very long time. I’m not rehashing the entire beeduo meta here but Ranboo does have particular interest and a particular prioritization for Tbbo for a long ass time; arguably post-NLM and thru burger arc, Tbbo is its first priority bc Ranboo loves him and has convinced itself it’s the only one who can fix him and has also mostly-correctly observed that no one has really been looking out for him. Tubbo is an urgent target in Ranboo’s projects of compassion and of survival both

When those stakes r released, tho, in the burger van conversation (the “you weren’t happy before?��) Ranboo no longer has Tbbo at the same priority level irt the project of survival especially, and, despite how guilty and upset it makes them, prioritizes their 5D chess game with Wilbur instead (ironically sacrificing a solid chunk of its project of survival). Its motives @ the end of Ho16 r commonly cited as being abt Tbbo but that’s not entirely what he says and if it was Ranboo HAS the kind of analytical presence of mind to know that it Killing Himself doesn’t help Tbbo as much as it deals with Wilbur

Ho16 is abt Ranboo winning aforesaid 5D chess game; Tbbo is only part of the stakes 4 that and Mitigating Tbbo is no longer Ranboo’s top priority w/ that. Ranboo’s final monologue is more than anything reminiscent of his earlier arguments about sides and collateral. It’s part of the larger project of compassion, and it’s about the distorted version thereof tht comes with Ranboo getting stuck in its head and its machinations, too; like Tbbo is important to Ranboo and the carelessness abt Tbbo is something unacceptable but to claim Ranboo’s motivations revolve around Tubbo specifically is reductive of his other relationships and actual larger ideological motivations 

I have a problem w/ framings of this as positive/romantic devotion that amkes Ranboo better or as devotion at all bc repeatedly it is shown it makes him Worse, and is in fact the opposite of devotion it's disingenuous by nature. Ranboo is lying. This is so essential to all of this when Ranboo acts like he is in step with you specifically he is lying you are never guaranteed to be the priority. This is him at his worst, th project of compassion at its most compromised, and it’s a state that they explicitly don’t like. Ranboo does not like compromising itself and when they do that they Get Hurt (NLM and outpost arc having the most confabulation we’ve seen in Ranboo in general, Ranboo hating himself for this, Ranboo complying w/ shit like the experiments, Ranboo in all these environments where he is playing this being Constantly Markedly Afraid)

Even throughout the time period where Tbbo is technically priority #1 Tbbo is still . Priority Number One as opposed to like a genuine devotion. Tbbo having a handle on Ranboo in this way is not devotion it is fear and it is again not a mechanism tht Ranboo Only engages for Tbbo it’s just a mechanism, that again IS BAD FOR RANBOO BOTH IRT MENTAL HEALTH AND MORALITY, that has thru circumstance become one tht Tbbo is best at unintentionally activating. Ranboo Does This When You Are His Project. And When He Had A New Project Aside From His Husband That’s What He Did To Him

TL;DR

Ranboo does comply with Tubbo in various activities tht he doesn’t believe in but this isn’t ? Unique to Tbbo this is just Ranboo’s general socialmeta+ what allows it to move in the world the way it does

Ranboo cares about Tubbo deeply and this is relevant to his motivations but that’s only one part of his larger motivations

It’s also honestly not great to frame this complianceas romantic or good bc it’s actively smth that Makes Them Worse in multiple senses

It takes out a ton of Ranboo’s decision making and the negative effects thereof

Anyway stream

[1] No, one dumb as fuck line from Dream Of All People in that lame ass excuse for a finale does not negate All The Things In CRanboo’s Story including working w Dream being part of this consistent pattern, Ranboo’s story being abt agency responsibility and decision in such a way tht it is completely undercut by mind ctrl plots, Ranboo’s ideological agreement w Dream on some matters, the alliumduo parallels, and everything we do know abt the enderwalk as a concept and Ranboo how he acts in and out of it

[soupyloopyx]

main / pinned post (intro) - this is really long btw (sorry)

hi i'm soph, or sophy, but you can also call me soup :) she/her

i'm a minor so please don't be weird.

this is just a new intro post because the old one was so bad and also because!! i have 100 followers now!!!

music:

pretty obvious, but i'm a massive fan of taylor swift!

i also like: sabrina carpenter, arctic monkeys, the 1975, david bowie, maisie peters, paramore

a couple things about me:

i'm pan yet lack cooking skills

i write :)

i'm from england

i should probably be studying right now

i'm doing music gcse and i play the clarinet !!

i'm have braces, right now they are purple

I LOVE MY CAT OREO SO MUCH WITH ALLLLLLL MY HEART

i love the marauders era, which brings us to...

fandoms i'm in: harry potter/marauders (yeah that's kind of it, i don't really do much other than that lol)

ships <3

marauders: wolfstar, jegulus, jily, rosekiller, dorlene, marylily, pandalily

harry potter: drarry, romione, pansy x hermione

i have a cat called oreo and he is genuinely the cutest thing ever, so i had to share and give him his own section <3

eras tour section:

london night 7 (19th august 2024), block 503, row 2, seat 89

surprise songs: long live/change, the archer/you're on your own kid

outfits: pink lover, silver noodles fearless, not tv red, wonderstruck speak now, normal rep, blue folkmore, blue/orange 1989, ily ttpd + black with white jacket, pink ss, pink midnights + stars and moon + redpink jacket

please be my friend if:

you share my music taste or want to introduce me to people

you want to be lol

you like my posts

you aren't a creep

you like me in general

we have the same ships :)

please don't interact if:

you are "anti-taylor"... i don't care if you don't like her, but if you actively hate her, then what's the point in following me??

you're racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, etc.

you're a creep. i will block you.

you're a bot/your account is used to promote any kind of sexual service

ALSO GUYS HI THIS IS IMPORTANT!!!!!!!!!!!!

since i hit 100 followers, i should probably do something special (i didn't think i would even get 10 help me)

SO be on the look out for that <3

yeah so i do want to use this tumblr for fanfics as well as a personal account because my writing is personal to me. i think i'll go back to posting scenes and funny bits i've written. also, since everything takes so long to write lol, i should post """spoilers""" or just what i'm working on.

in english, we've been doing so much goddamn analysis of language and structure that i'm not even motivated to write anything but analysis so 😭😭😭😭😭

this is the end, fellas. see ya around.

[bisexual-queenie]

Could you please write more BNHA Pro Heroes as Incorrect Quotes. I need a Pt.2

OMG Im so happy that someone wanted a part 2 to one of my favorite posts that I made!! Here yall go!

(Few trigger warnings before we begin: Use if swearing, and mentions of violence an alcohol. Let me know if I missed anything!)

Ships mentioned (Vaugley and outright): Erasermic, Edgejeanist, Nightmight, and Kamui x Mount Lady

—————————————————————————

Eraserhead: You have to apologize to Takeyama.

Midnight: Fine.

Midnight: 'Unfuck you' or whatever.

All Might: You often use humor to deflect trauma.

Nighteye: Thank you!

All Might: I didn't say that was a good thing.

Nighteye: What I'm hearing is, you think I'm funny.

Present Mic: Do you remember that horrible roommate you had back in college?

Eraserhead: You mean you?

Mount Lady: Sometimes I feel like dying.

Kamui Woods: Wha-

Mount Lady: And then I remember that I won't be able to see you if I do.

Kamui Woods: *blushes*

———————————————————————

Best Jeanist: Sometimes I feel like dying.

Edgeshot: Good for you.

Miruko: Do I look nice?

Fat Gum: You look like you're about to set someone on fire.

Miruko: Perfect.

Present Mic: A fistfight CAN be romantic.

Miruko: And you know what the worst part is?

Ryukyuu: That you're having to process your pain without vodka?

Miruko: No.

Miruko: Yeah.

Midnight: If you found out you only had one day left to live, what would you do with it?

Eraserhead: Say goodbye and mend my relationships.

Present Mic: Something illegal.

Shirakumo: Accept my fate.

Tensei: I would message ten people saying that if they didn't forward the message to 10 other people, I would die tomorrow.

Eraserhead: What?

Shirakumo: That's fucking awesome. Can I change my answer?

Eraserhead: Hizashi, just GO TO THE HOSPITAL

Present Mic: Who's stab wound is this???? Is it OUR stab wound???? No! Stay out of it!

Hawks: I'm the proud owner of an IQ of 5 (and a half)!

Endeavor: Not for long.

Hawks: Please. It's all I have.

Present Mic: "Ladies and gentlemen" is unnecessarily gendered, overly formal, lengthy, and honestly I'm falling asleep already.

Present Mic: "Cowards", on the other hand, is inclusive to all genders, casual and fun. Short and to the point, exciting, and dramatic.

Nighteye: You look like a corpse that was just pulled out of the river.

Present Mic: Wrong. I look like a cool rock star who just OD'd in their own pool. Big difference.

Gang Orca: I made lightly fried fish fillets for dinner.

Edgeshot: Kuugo, It’s 1:15 am, what the fuck.

Gang Orca: Do you want the lightly fried fish fillets or not.

Edgeshot: Well, I mean yeah.

Gang Orca: So come downstairs while they’re still hot.

Best Jeanist: Wait, you just made them?

Gang Orca: Yeah, I wasn’t tired so I decided to make lightly fried fish fillets.

Edgeshot: Say lightly fried fish fillets one more time Kuugo.

Present Mic: *speaking Spanish*

Eraserhead: I know, I know.

All Might: You speak Spanish?

Eraserhead: No. I just know the phrase, 'this is all your fault' in every language Hizashi speaks.

All Might: I would never say that Mirai is a bitch and I don’t don’t like him. That’s not true…Mirai is a bitch and I like him so much!

Edgeshot: Sometimes, I don’t realize an event was traumatic until I tell it as a funny story and notice everyone is staring at me weird.

*Present Mic sneezes*

Eraserhead: Hizashi, are you sick? Here, let me wrap you in a blanket and hand-feed you some warm soup while singing you a lullaby!

*anyone else sneezes*

Eraserhead: Oh my god. Shut the hell up.

Hawks: Uptown Funk would've made it into the Shrek Soundtrack.

Miruko: That's the truest statement I've ever heard.

Fat Gum: Hey Sasaki?

Nighteye: Yeah?

Fat Gum: What's your favorite color of the alphabet? True or false?

Nighteye:

Nighteye: ...What.

Ryukyuu: So, what's it like living with Hakamada?

Edgeshot: They once referred to sand as "heterosexual glitter."

Ryukyuu: ...

Edgeshot: I love them so much.

Fat Gum: I’m sorry, I really flew off the handle back there. It was like the handle was a bald guy going really fast, and I was his toupée.

Someone interviewing the Lurkers: What are the hardest things to say?

Mount Lady: I was wrong.

Edgeshot: I need help.

Kamui Woods: Worcestershire sauce.

Eraserhead: You’re drunk.

Present Mic: Correction: drinking. Present tense. Grammar, Shouta.

Endeavor: How did none of you hear what I just said?!

Hawks: I've been zoned out for the past two and a half hours.

Best Jeanist: I got distracted halfway through.

Edgeshot: Ignoring you was a conscious decision.

Hawks: If you put a milkshake in one yard and crack open a cold one in another yard, which yard would the boys go to?

All Might: Schrödinger's boys.

Miruko: FUCK!

Present Mic: What about cracking open a cold milkshake?

Nighteye: As we all know, the milkshake brings the boys to the yard. The presence of the boys is a prerequisite for the cracking open of a cold one, but cold ones do not have any inherent boy-attracting abilities. Milkshakes, however, do.

Nighteye: All else being equal, the boys would proceed to the milkshake yard. While it is possible to announce the presence of cold ones in the hope of attracting some boys, the pull of the milkshake is much more powerful by comparison.

Hawks: ...

All Might: ...

Miruko: ...

Present Mic: ...

Nighteye: Mind you, all of this nonsense hinges on whether or not the boys are back in town.

[happilychee]

The aromantic Levy headcannons anon here!

Levy is in a qpr with Jet & Droy. Gajeel ofc becomes a part of it once he joins Fairy Tail. So does Lily

She did feel like she was a bit of an outcast since the girl's and some guys would talk about romance and she didn't understand it. Same as Lucy, Levy enjoyed reading about it, but the love parts just to her, weird and confusing

Jet & Droy helped her figure herself out and finding out she was aromantic made her smile.

Levy had to contain her excitement when Lucy approached her, talking the way she used to about romance. She was happy that she wasn't the only aro girl in the guild.

Gajeel surprisingly was the easiest to tell that she was aromantic. "...I'm aromantic" "Cool" "Wow. That was easy" Natsu on the other hand, was the hardest. He just stood there with a confused look on his face so she had to explain it in a different way. "I prefer friendship over romance, Natsu" "So calling you my best friend is okay?" " Yes you dummy"

it's not a lot but I hope you like them

sending hugs and a nice warm bowl of soup your way, anon; I love these mwah <2

writing this post just in time for aromantic spectrum awareness week!!

aromantic fairy tail headcanons

♡ yes to everything above. levy adores jet and droy, then gajeel and lily. she gets such a sense of fulfillment and joy when she's with them.

♡ levy wears green on valentine's day. yes, it's a statement, and she'll patiently spend the day explaining aromanticism to anyone who asks. she also binges on discount chocolates with lucy that night as they watch shitty romcom movies. the two can and do coexist.

♡ another qpr/qpp pairing is juvia and lisanna. they're not only close emotionally; lisanna is by nature a physically affectionate person, and juvia is severely touch starved. the only person she could theoretically be comfortable with touching her is gajeel, but he's not one for soft affection (she's been thrown into too many brotherly headlocks over the years.) so when lisanna casually grabs onto juvia's arm when they're out and about, a switch flips in her head. juvia is very touchy with lisanna, and only lisanna. this leads to most of the guild thinking they're dating.

♡ the words "we're just friends" leave a bad taste in lisanna's mouth. juvia wrinkles her nose when she hears people say "oh, so you're not more than friends." both consider each other one of the most important people in their lives. them being friends doesn't somehow diminish that. juvia lets the worry slip when she's shopping with lucy, who brings her to levy. the three have a long and thoughtful discussion, but honestly, it leaves juvia feeling confused. she's never been one for close relationships with anyone, given her childhood, and all these labels make her head hurt. levy and lucy say that's fine, the only person she really needs to make sure is on the same page is lisanna.

♡ lisanna is very much on the same page of "idk what we are but I like where we are." they decide to just... keep doing what they're doing. when there's new developments (juvia gets a nosebleed when she sees lisanna in a swimsuit, to her own horror), they talk it out and set boundaries for what they want and don't want to do (juvia very, very shyly asks if she could give lisanna a kiss on the cheek.)

♡ also, at some point, juvia and lisanna move out of fairy hills and get an apartment together. mira objects to this only on the grounds that she won't be able to prevent them from starting kitchen fires with their baking attempts. she ends up over more often than not, and lisanna feels her chest swell with warmth at seeing her big sister and her best friend get along so well.

♡ also big aro vibes... gray, cana, and loke. the three of them are so chill about everything. the guild suspects they're in a relationship, but then they also see cana going out with lucy and get confused. gray just shrugs and says it's a girls' night. completely unbothered king. besides, he's got a board game score to settle with loke and natsu.

♡ erza, I think, is a big romantic at heart, but the thing is she does that to everyone. she gets a lot of money from s-class jobs, and there's only so much she can spend on herself or new sets of armor. eventually, team natsu starts finding beautiful bouquets of flowers on their doorsteps. someone dares to tell erza that men don't like flowers, and suddenly every man in fairy tail is getting a monthly bouquet of roses.

♡ erza also misses a lot of "romantic" cues. she wouldn't be able to tell if someone was flirting with her if her life depended on it. gray and natsu, the little shits, take full advantage of this to mess with the poor suitor. I also think erza is demi, so she really has to have a strong emotional bond with someone before she considers having sex with them. she likes to take care and be taken care of, so she wants it to be with someone who knows her inside and out.

♡ natsu honestly has huge aspec vibes, mostly because he completely bulldozes over any societal conventions, labels, and definitions. if natsu feels a certain way, he's going to let the person know. if he wants to be cuddly with them and they're okay with it, he will be cuddly. doesn't matter who they are; even laxus gets the occasional natsu cuddle. levy and lucy almost lose their minds because they're so busy having deep discussions about the intricacies of aromanticism, and then natsu comes in like a breath of fresh air because he genuinely does not care. not in a bad way, he loves to listen to lucy's passionate rants (she's cute when she's excited) but. it's just something that never bothered him. personally, I do think out of everyone, he's closest to lucy in the "romantic" sense, but even then, it's just a different type of relationship to him. there's no way in hell he would specifically choose just lucy over everyone else in the guild. they're all his family!

♡ in conclusion, fairy tail is aromantic and aspec as fuck.

[butch-bakugo]

" kamala was a cop don't ya know? She also supports Israel! Why is genocide not a deal breaker for you??"

Kamala was a DA, a district attorney. The district attorney is the government's lawyer. Cops are the governments body guards and personally killing squad. The person who stands in a court room and makes you pay a fine for graffiting the subway tunnel so the government can keep upkeep and the class traitor gay cop kicking a homeless man to death and setting their tent on fire with them in it is not the same shit. If your shitting on her for working in favor of the government (not even federal, state government), then you should also be shitting on the janitors mopping the floors of town hall. Not all government workers are equal.

As for the second point, call me a selfish asshole, but I would like to continue to be alive. I know, crazy thought, but I'm not willing to throw myself on your pseudo-moralistic holy blade as another point in the trans or gay or disabled or native death percentage so I can maintain that I didn't vote for someone with a slightly favorable leaning generally neutral opinion towards Israel. I can't fight Israel if I'm dead. I can't protect Palestine as a fuckin meat bag. I can't afford to put my rights on the line. I can't live to fight another day when I'm sacrificing myself.

Naw we writing this in the biggest text: I feel like all of you "protesting" voting to slightly improve our chances because you can't stand the thought that a candidate isn't perfect don't understand that voting is not something any sane minority with rights on the line would protest. I'm starting to think you all see voting as a public statement about how moral and pure and progressive you are and not what it actually is, a small act of many you should actively be taking to improve our situation.

I don't think some of you realize that some of the most successful changes in our government were constant and grueling actions taken slowly and by the book to garentee said right. The revolution will not happen over night and your ego is showing if you seriously think 2 terms of a great president will just suddenly get all our rights back and turn America into the progressive and accepting and diverse place it needs to be.

You are too busy fantazing about cutting off Mitch mcturtleforeskin's head when your local community needs you. Your spending too much time and energy posting a million links to gofundmes and never actually donate.

You may dress like an activist, talk like an activist and have amazing ideas like activists but you will never be an activist if you can't even volunteer at your local soup kitchen without agonizing for three weeks cause you have to call to set up your interview for it.

The reason garenteed rights like unions had stayed for so long is because unions organized and fought on the ground at the same time. Your no good to the movement if all you have is fantasies about punching terfs and Nazis and running in streets at protests screaming we will rock you and your not willing to sign up and get to work.

You work for the movement or the movement can't work for you.

[amethystfairy1]

(Buckle up, this is gonna be a long one.)

Hi! Hello! How are you? :]

Let me just say, your work is simply incredible.

I've been binge-reading your TTSBC series for a few days now, as you can probably tell from all the kudos (you deserve them!), and I have been going crazy

First of all, I think this was the first Hermitcraft ship fic I've read. Conclusions/thoughts;

1) You've made me a flower husbands fan, great job, I am now obsessed with them

2) the relationship between Scott and Martyn is so precious to me, you have no idea

3) I am now a fan of ALL the relationships you've written; flower husbands, treebark, desert duo, Tango/Zed, Lizzie/Joel, Shelby/ Katherine, Etho/Doc (I hope I didn't forget anyone)

4) PEARL IS A MENACE AND I LOVE HER. SHE IS MY FAVOURITE, YOU HAVE NO IDEA. She is the big sister™ and she is the best

5)Scar is a sweetheart and that is a FACT. HE WAS SO SWEET TO CUB?? AND TO GRIAN?? I LOVE HIM

6) I absolutely love mom Cleo, her and Bdubs are so kind and thoughtful and caring to each other, I will simply explode

7) KATHERINE STRAIGHT UP JUST SAID "nope" AND WENT BACK TO THE UNDER-CITY

8) I need more Scott as a journalist. I need to see his hunger to get all the details. I need to see him use his silver-tongue skills on someone, and I need to see Jimmy(or anyone) be scared but also fascinated. I need to see more Scott and Pearl fighting for the best interview.

I don't even watch cc!Scott, and now look at me. Im obsessed with his character.

9) PESKY BIRDS BEING LITTLE WAS THE CUTEST THING EVER I WILL CRY TEARS OF JOY. SMALL BDUBS?? CHILDREN ARE SO CUTE

10) I also,,, kinda,,, want to see someone react a bit badly to seeing their partner being from the under-city. Maybe,,, Martyn being angry with being lied to? Maybe,,, Scott screaming at him that what he's doing is helping no one? Maybe, maybe,,,,

(im secretly an angst-girlie at heart, what can I say. I love me some good hurt/comfort)

11)JOEL AND LIZZIE'S BACKSTORY IS ALL I NEEDED IN LIFE, I CAN NOW DIE HAPPILY

12) please let zed and tango have a happy ending pleasepleasepleasePLEASEPLE-

13) also the titles have all been so cool! I saw a post of yours that said you use terms of endearment, and I thought that was really cute :)

14) SOUP GROUP

In conclusion, I am crazy for your work, please feed us more.

To show you how crazy I've been over this series;

I went completely nuts, explaining to my friend some basics about it the moment I was sure I've read everything, and Im probably gonna make them read it too. I've already sent them the link to the series.

They are not even a Minecraft fan. They don't know what Hermitcraft is.

Anyway, this was all to say; you're amazing, your work is truly fantastic, your writing style is one of the best I've ever seen/read (and I've read a lot of fics, do not doubt me)

Please don't feel forced to write anything I've said! I'm just throwing ideas that came over my head when reading!

(your traveling thieves series is also amazing! Im just currently full of ttsbc thoughts rn, its eating me alive /pos)

Hope my spam liking was not annoying!

Have a great day!

:D

It was not annoying in the SLIGHTEST!

Hello hello, thank you, thank you! I'm so glad TTSBC has been so enjoyable for you and that you've had fun binge reading all of it!

I am delighted and honored to be the first author you've read that has written Hermitshipping and that you've enjoyed it and it's caused you to love all my ships! That's a great day for a fanfic author!!!

FLOWER HUSBANDS ARE MY FAVORITE! More people who like Flower Husbands? HAPPIER I AM! It is a DIRECT correlation!

Someone commented at some point that they reminded them of drunk girls comforting each other in the bathroom after a party, and I think that's exactly accurate 😆

YES! ALL THE SHIPS!

Pearl is the Big Sister ™️ of the group and if anyone hurts any of her little siblings it is game over!

Scar is SUCH a sweetheart in this AU! He's a superhero, he's a boyfriend, he's a best friend, he's a professor, and he's just doing his best to juggle it all!

Zom-Mom and Sentient Glowstick. Only the best combo!

Katherine said "Wait crap I think that was the love of my life!" and dove back in!"

Journalist Scott will be making a return in several pieces of the future, don't you worry! We'll get to see him strut his stuff! I'm very glad I've gotten you to love c!Scott even if you don't watch cc!Scott, that's just the best!

PESKY BIRRRRRRRBS!

ooooo there's an angsty take. Hm. Well, there is certainly more angst on the docket for everyone, I assure you, and while I can't promise that brand of angst in particular, there is other stuff left to unpack! Please look forward to it!

JOEL AND LIZZE! BUTTERFLY AND CAT LADY! MARRIED FOR OVER A DECADE AND RUNNING A BAKERY! ADORABLE!

Zedango will return! That is all I shall say!

I'm so glad you like the titles! I think it's very cute but I have to admit I'm starting to struggle to come up with terms of endearment I haven't used before 😆

SOUP GROUP

I'm so glad you're trying to get your friend into TTSBC! The nice thing is I don't think it's too terribly difficult to spring into without context of watching any of the CCs because the characters all pretty much explain themselves within the AU. Maybe looking up some fanart for what everyone ought to look like, but it's not the worst thing!

Glad to hear you also like Traveling Thieves! I was gonna point you that way when you said you were an angst girlie so good that you're already there!

Thanks so much for coming by! 💖

[kisilinramblings]

do you think derision officially killed any chance of a chloe redemption? additionally, what do you think of her development in s5?

(part 2 of tht chloe ask for derision). And this is also coming from someone who would've liked a redemption arc for her. I feel like ppl are mad that Chloe's abuse is being shown in a more serious light in how badly it affected Marinette to the point of triggering her, as if its not allowed to be shown when we were told but not shown, tht she was horrible to Marinette for years.

====

Chloé's character herself made it very clear to Adrien, to us and indirectly to Sabrina, that she doesn't want to change, didn't she not? And a character who refuses to change, won't change.

Chloé : What should I care about what Dupain-Cheng feels? Those of her kind are only there to entertain me. What's the point of having power if you cannot use it on those who don't have it?

S4-S5 is Chloé going back to square 1. Some may consider she is even worst than Chloé is S1, but I need to remind them of actions Chloé did take during the first season.

Origins? Chloé forced Marinette to sit elsewhere. Mocks Ivan and calls him a monster. Mocks also Alya who calls her out for her insensitiveness. Puts a gum on Marinette's seat to put her in her place.

Bubbler? Pushed Marinette aside.

Lady Wifi? Threaten the principal to get what she wanted. Same that she did with Soqueline.

Chronogirl? Take and inspect Alix's watch without authorization nor care.

Mr Pigeon? Plays the victim in front of Gabriel Agreste and says Marinette has copied her design.

Evillustrator? Mock Nathaniel's drawing in front of the class.

Rogercop? Make a comment about Marinette's family not being able to afford a bracelet like hers. Accuses Marinette for stealing said bracelet without proof.

Dark Cupid? Breaks Kim's heart along with not only taking of picture of the humiliating position he is in, but also shares it to the Internet.

Horrificator? Mocking Mylène for being scared to the point of making her cry and hide in the restrooms.

Dark Blade? Forced all other students to not even compete to be class representative. Was set to tarnish Marinette's reputation by learning the content of her diary and reveal it to everyone.

Kung Food? Sabotage Marinette's uncle's soup in a culinary competition.

Reflekta? Ensures that Juleka is not on the class picture so she can have her place next to Adrien. Also, spied and was ready to report Marinette's action to Mr. Damocles.

Pixelator? Mess with the class affected roles, putting Alya in charge of sorting thrash at the main dumpster and for Marinette to be a gofer who will run errands for others.

Princess Fragrance? Tears Rose's letter to prince Ali in front of her. Takes away Marinette's "plushie" and try to give it as a present to prince Ali.

Like, Chloé was clearly a Bully™ in S1. She may not have played bad pranks during S1 (aside the gum on the seat), but she mocked and humiliated other classmates many times and particularly aimed her attacks and comments at Marinette whenever she had a chance. However, unlike the previous years before, Marinette now had confidence to fight back and is not an easy target anymore. And the other classmates have also grown to not stay idle to Chloé's bullshit anymore (see Deflagration). And I wrote in previous post why Chloé is more frustrating and frustrated than ever.

Still, in light of Derision, it is even surprising that the class accepted Chloé to be even present such as during the student film project in Horrificator or the friendly competition between Alix and Kim. Though it is unclear of who invited her. I understand only a very few knew about the prank at the pool, but the cockroaches and other torments Chloé inflicted to Marinette was known. And tbh, while Thomas and Sébastien were there from the beginning as Show Creator and Writing Director respectfully, it is not unbelievable they themselves didn't have a clear idea of the extent of Chloé's bullying then. Even they maybe didn't yet figured what Chloé could be capable of while working on S1. But that is fan speculation. I'm not behind the scenes. At any case, I'm thorned between "part of this episode should have been brought up earlier" yet loving the timing of the discussion between Marinette and Adrien at the end about trauma and healing and the fact they can still date and take the time and it goes so well with the relationship stage they currently are in as it happened during the episode of their first official date.

Anyway, I too was open for Chloé to change slowly by the end of S2 and eventually admit that she was wrong of treating Marinette and the other classmates like dirt, but during S3, I've realized that unlike all them, Chloé was heading in a different direction. Realizing how much of a warning flag Despair Bear was. During S2-S3, Chloé accepted to mellow down and do the minimum required, but only if there was a reward for her at the end. The Bee Miraculous was her sole motivation to be decent. And that only carries on for the time it would last AKA as long as the reward is there and was satisfying. And when Chloé permanently loses her access to the Bee Miraculous, I've written before S4 how it would not be the rock bottom for her yet. That is was just the beginning of the end for her.

Chloé, as a character, is motivated since S1 by status which she associates with power. Since Chloé cannot be a superhero anymore and blames and hates Ladybug for it, I'm interpretating that her character is now more than ever clinging to elite and privileged club she grew up in thanks to her parents as it is still in her reach. She fully embraces the rules and mentality of this privileged elite club.

Still, if you are looking for a character's redemption, Sabrina is starting to engage herself in that trail. She assisted in a lot of Chloé's mischiefs in the past and still is putting with all the crap she still gets in this toxic relationship but it feels like this is about to change. Right now, Sabrina is only in the self-reflection stage, but it is a first step. She obviously didn't like Chloé's answer at the end of Derision. In Perfection, you see that Sabrina is affected upon hearing Chloé said that her best friend position is going to Lila. At least, I think it is worth to keep an eye on Sabrina this season.

[lili-loves-whump]

the difference part 2 surely surely surely also ily and ur writing sm!! been a follower for like ages it feels like and ur posts make my world light up with joy

"haha thank u so much," she chuckles, "I really appreciate the follow."

lili-loves-whump presents:

The Difference Pt. 2

here's 1 here’s 3

"And, uhm, yeah. That's what happened. They snuck a homeless child into their house. Villain thought they were cute, and fed them leftover soup and chicken nuggets from lunch, a huge slab of sponge cake, and left them to shower and sleep in the guest bedroom.

The kid would've only been about 11, maybe 12. Villain had no idea how long they'd been on the streets, what horrors they could have seen. They knew there was a chance a neighbour saw them bring a child into the house and called the cops but they didn't care. They just wanted the kid they'd found to be safe and warm.

As they sat on the couch that night, flicking through channels on the tv, stomach rumbling, they wondered how they'd be able to pay for the child.

Supervillain had taken another cut out of their winnings recently, and without a job, they barely had enough to pay for rent and utilities for themselves.

With a sigh, Villain crept past the guest bedroom door and slipped into the kitchen, pulling the fridge open. A few tiny bottles on condiments, some floppy lettuce, and half a serve of egg whites.

Nothing.

The tiny cupboard Villain used as a pantry held half a pack of spaghetti, a few different spices, and a snack size packet of Pringles. Villain cracked open the packet, frustrated tears welling up to see it was basically empty and full of ants. They slammed the cupboard door closed and tossed the chip packet in the general direction of the bin, groaning when it hit the tiles.

They slumped against the island bench, not noticing the door crack open to the guest bedroom. Pale yellow light shone through, and Villain lifted their head as heavy footsteps padded towards them.

"Mister?" the kid asked, "what's wrong?"

Villain sniffed and wiped a stray tear with their hand. Their eyes felt puffy, and their feelings too big, but they still forced themselves to smile. "Nothing," they muttered, "I'm just trying to work out food for tomorrow."

The child smiled softly, newly cleaned teeth glowing against the bluish moonlight shining from the window. "I don't eat much, because I was never given much. I'll be gone by tomorrow morning, then you can work out food for yourself." They shrugged, and Villain ignored the shiny glint in their eyes as they frowned. "I'm tired. Goodnight, Mister. I really appreciate having somewhere nice to sleep for the night."

Villain didn't stop the kid from walking away, closing the door, and turning off the guest bedroom light, even as guilt and longing stabbed their chest."

[softxsuki]

Hi Han! Hope you're having a wonderful day and thank you for considering my request!! <3 Can I have a letter from Shinichiro where he confesses his feelings to a close friend of his (aka the reader) who he has a crush on? The tone can be a little nervous but also very loving and full of fluff <3 The genre can be fluff ofc and maybe friends to lovers vibes?? As for the location, let's make it an evening his friend decides to stop by to help him with taking care of Mikey and Emma? He's been wanting to confess for a while but he didn't get the nerve to do so until his friend goes up to his room to take something and sees a pile of crumbled up papers on his desk. And what is that weird box near them?

About me, hmm. Let's say that I am going to medical college while has already started his bike shop- so I go over to his place after classes to hang out for a bit- so we'd be around 20 or 20+? I like visiting different places like museums, galleries and libraries (even if I say no, Shinichiro always drives me there no matter how far away it is) and though he says he finds them boring, he always tags along. I like singing a lot! And I play the piano too! I write from time to time (poems mostly!) I'm extroverted but I do find myself being shy in a lot of occasions. I love to talk about anything that fascinates me! I like weird little gifts that people make or buy- they mean a lot to me ;)

As for the direction of the story- after everything happening and I read the letter- I notice Shinichiro running towards the room and watch his face turn red as he realises what I am reading. You can decide where it goes from there... (but ofc I say yes) ;)

Han, thank you so much for doing this and I hope this doesn't affect your health in anyway (or I am going to come for you :D with some warm blankets and soup hehe). I hope you have a terrific day and an amazing week! Thank you once again! Bye!! -🕰

Shinichiro's Confession Letter To His Best Friend

Valentine's Day Letter Event Pt.2 Masterlist (CLOSED)

Pairing: Shinichiro x Gn!Reader

Warnings: some crying, kissing

Genre: Fluff, friends to lovers

Post-Type: Letter

Word Count: 1.5k (oof)

Summary: In which you find a letter addressed to you in your friend, Shinichiro's, room on Valentine's Day

[A/N: Hello hellooooo!! Happy Valentine's Day! Quick note--Mikey and Emma are both young here, just to let you and everyone else reading this know! I hope you enjoy it <3]

“Mind if I borrow a shirt?” You ask your friend beside you, looking down at the food that was now all over your own shirt.

Shinichiro was in charge of his two siblings for the night and had invited you over to help him watch over them. Little Mikey and Emma–one more chaotic than the other, but regardless you couldn’t turn down his offer to see two of your favorite kids in the world…and your best friend who was also your crush…

“Huh? Uh y-yeah sure, you know where my room is already,” He stammers out, red in the face at the prospect of seeing you in one of his shirts. Emma and Mikey were hyper-focused on the TV screen, one of their favorite cartoons was keeping their attention, as he addressed you.

Oblivious to his burning face in the dimly lit room, you thank him and head into the direction of his room. Shinichiro’s eyes burn into your back as you walk away. He sighs hopelessly, turning his attention back to his siblings as you disappear into his room. How much longer would he be able to keep his composure around you? The cracks were already starting to show and break even more as his affection for you grew day by day. 

You close the door behind you, hoping Emma or Mikey wouldn’t try and open it while you changed since there wasn’t a lock on it. Your eyes explore Shinichiro’s inviting room, taking it all in as you had never been in there alone before. It was fairly tidy, the familiar smell of him smashing you in the face, making your heart flutter slightly. You make your way to his dresser, digging through the bottom drawers for a shirt. 

Your movements are quick as you cautiously remove your shirt, not wanting any of the remnants of food on you to spill on his floor, and you slip on one of Shinichiro’s shirts. A quick task that took you no less than two minutes to do, but as you turned around to leave his room, your heart told you otherwise. A quick look-around wouldn’t hurt anyone, right?

Thousands of thoughts and fantasies filled your mind of the raven-haired man who you had a burning crush on. What would it feel like to cuddle with him in his bed? To wear his clothes more often? To fall asleep in the same bed, limbs intertwined? To be his–what would that feel like? Your heart craved to know more than ever–you were tired of being only a friend to him; why couldn’t you be more? Would he even feel the same way? Is that even possible?

Your thoughts go blank though as you spot a box on Shinichiro’s desk with papers sticking out of it. You can’t help but approach it and open the lid of the box, glancing at all the papers inside it. One paper in particular though, catches your attention even more. Jealousy and fear fill the pit of your stomach at the sight of an envelope with a heart drawn on the front of it. Was this for someone he liked? Or maybe from someone who liked him? 

With your heart racing, your curiosity gets the best of you and you find yourself opening the envelope and taking out the paper inside it. It’s a letter…with your name written at the top of it. You begin to read with a hopeful heart;

“Dear Y/N,

Happy Valentine’s Day! I’m still not entirely sure if I can even find the courage to give this letter to you…but I guess if you’re reading this, then I did! I’m writing this letter to you, not as a friend, but as someone who has had a crush on you for a few years now. Is that shocking? Hopefully it is because I’ve tried my best to control my emotions whenever I’m around you in fear of scaring you off with these feelings.

You’re my best friend, someone Mikey and Emma also look up to–perhaps that’s where it started?

Seeing the way you treated my siblings as your own. Your ability to light up any room you walk into, your kindness, your drive to always be better than you already are–you’re absolutely amazing. I guess the more I saw these little things, the more my heart started seeing you differently. I couldn’t meet up with you without going red in the face, blaming it on the exercise I wasn’t doing, or that old excuse of having been out in the sun for too long. I can’t even take my mind off you; as I write this, images of us together in the future fills my mind. A positive outcome of you reading this letter–IF you ever read it. 

But I’m also scared.

Scared to lose the friendship that we already have. I don’t want to scare you off and how could I turn back from saying all this if you don’t feel the same way? We’d slowly drift apart, and not only would I lose you, but so would Emma and Mikey–they love you so much. And I lo- actually no I don’t want to scare you any further. I like you Y/N. I like you a lot.

I write this with the plan to give it to you on Valentine’s Day and I’d love to know if you’d want to be mine this year and the next, and every year moving forward. Valentine’s Day has always made me so anxious. I was nervous you’d call me one Valentine’s Day saying someone asked you out. I don’t even want to picture you with someone else except for me. 

I hope I don’t sound too greedy or desperate. I’ll understand if you don’t feel the same way! Just know that I truly care, and I’d love to be with you and walk together towards our future. Yes, OUR future. I want the future to be ours–together. Gosh this is so dumb, I’m sorry.

Will I ever give this to you? Hopefully.

Your hopeless crush, 

Shinichiro Sano.xx

If your heart wasn’t already racing, it definitely was now. You couldn’t believe your eyes. Shinichiro felt the same way about you, for what looks like a pretty long time. How had you not noticed before? 

You read and re-read the letter over and over again, allowing his words to sink in. This was real, right?

“Y/N! WAIT,” You suddenly hear loud footsteps run towards the bedroom door and Shinichiro flings it open with fear in his eyes. He pauses in the door frame, taking in the image of you in his shirt which makes his heart leap in his chest, but then he sees the open box and the letter he had written a few days ago, in your hands, and that’s when his heart drops down to his feet.

“I- I can explain. You see it was ju-”

“Thank you,” you cut him off, tears beginning to pool in your eyes–happy tears of course, “Thank you for liking me.”

He was flabbergasted to say the least. Images of you being disgusted with him or uncomfortable around him after reading his letter left his mind as the smile on your face filled his heart. He slowly walks towards you, cupping your face and wiping your tears away.

“Why are you crying?” He soothingly asks.

“I’m sorry, I just never thought you’d like me as much as I like you…” another confession. 

His hands pause from wiping your tears, taking in your words before a huge smile appears on his face, “Really?”

“Really Shin,” you laugh, wiping the rest of your tears away, embarrassed that they fell from your eyes without your permission. This was a time to be happy! “And I’d love to be your Valentine this year, next year, and every year to come.”

Overwhelmed with joy, he hugs you tight, scared that if he lets go, the world would crumble and he’d wake up to find out it was a dream.

“Can I…kiss you?” He shyly asks with you still in his arms.

“Of course.”

He leans in and your lips connect in an innocent kiss. Your first kiss together–the first of many to come. He sighs in content, disconnecting your lips and leaning his head against yours.

“I’ve dreamt of this moment for so long, I can’t believe it’s actually happening.”

“Same here, especially not on Valentine’s Day. I’m glad I snooped around though. I’m sure you probably wouldn’t have given that to me on your own, huh?”

“I would have…eventually.”

You laugh, hugging him tighter. “It all worked out in the end.”

“Yeah, I guess it did,” he hums in delight of feeling you in his arms, “Though I’m sorry we have to spend our first Valentine’s Day together babysitting my siblings. I’ll make it up to you, I promise. How about tomorrow?”

“Hey~ I love your siblings. I’m glad I could see them today! Anytime with you will be time well spent, but I will take you up on that date offer for tomorrow,” you wink.

He kisses you one more time, sealing the deal, before the two of you finally leave the room, remembering the two kids that needed to be supervised. You walk out hand in hand, which makes Mikey gag as Emma cheers for joy, making you both laugh. Everything was perfect.

REGULAR REQUESTS ARE OPEN :D

LETTER EVENT REQUESTS ARE CLOSED

Posted: 2/14/2023

[mycupofrum]

Writing Patterns

Thanks for tagging me @cassiaratheslytherpuff and @heartofspells! 😍

Rules: List the first line of your last 10 (or however many you have) posted fics and see if there's a pattern!

1. Regardless (I love you) (James & Sirius, G, 1k)

It started with a soup.

2. What happens in the showers (Prongsfoot, E, 7k)

At first, it was a pure coincidence.

3. Darkness (Prongsfoot, T, 865)

He was shaking violently, unable to process what had happened.

4. Enchanted (Prongsfoot, E, 11k)

The House of Black's annual ball at the Royal Palace was a well-known event throughout the kingdom.

5. Practice makes perfect (Prongsfoot, E, 4k)

On that Thursday, the ceiling of the Great Hall was covered by a veil of grey clouds.

Dark before the dawn series (5 drabbles, G, Sirius & different characters):

6. Grief (Sirius & Luna, 582)

Walking around the cold stone corridors of Hogwarts in a pair of thin socks was unfortunate, but Luna always ended up finding her shoes eventually.

7. Guilt (Sirius & Remus, 432)

With the Order meeting over, they remain in the kitchen, two glasses and a bottle of Scotch between them.

8. Academics (Sirius & Hermione, 356)

He walks up the stairs two steps at a time, anxious to be away from everyone else.

9. Jealous (Sirius & Peter, 102)

Peter Pettigrew didn't care about attention; that was always reserved for Sirius and James.

10. Azkaban (Sirius & Bellatrix, 100)

The woman screams endlessly as they lock her up, spitting out curses and threats, full of defiance, pride.

Ok so I can tell that when it's a drabble I get usually more to the point right away and the sentences tend to be longer. Otherwise I think I start with a sentence that raises the interest of a reader or somehow sets the mood.

Tagging @siriuslystarbucks @lovelymasks @in-flvx @arliedraws if you want to do this <3

[naranjapetrificada]

Fanfic Friday!

I still don't completely understand it, so this week I'm just gonna reflect on things that happened while writing this arranged marriage longfic, some of which I posted about on here and some of which I didn't.

I gave up on the Soup Paragraphs that were haunting me and realized I can introduce them later if I must.

I got in some "let go and let god" practice when I realized I don't have to get every little throwaway detail right, especially when it slows down my progress/makes writing miserable.

My therapist wants me to see about applying this Free Yourself skill in my non-writing life, to which I say I know you are but what am I

Characters put themselves in situations without my input and it was great!

Ceremonies are hard to write but at least I now know what Ed and Stede would be like if they were kids in a school play.

I started watching Rome again after thinking about it last week in the wake of the cancelation (I've had it on DVD for years). Still problematic in the way something made in 2005 will be, but otherwise it holds up incredibly well.

I've also stopped caring as much about all the people using the world's problems as a bludgeon against OFMD fans and the campaign to to save the show. For all the reasons other people have already articulated well but also, on a personal note, because of what this show has done for my relationship with writing.

I won't get into too much detail but suffice it to say I have a lot of baggage around writing, because of all the "gifted" nonsense of my childhood and my MFA experience as an adult. I don't blame anyone per se, but unhelpful social frameworks were unhelpful. Let's just say that when Pop-Pop said "if you were ever good at anything go do that" to Ed, it didn't not remind me of feeling obligated to do something that used to be rewarding but isn't anymore because it's what you're "supposed" to do. Anyway.

I wrote three short (<2000 word) fics between seasons 1&2, the first fic I've felt like writing in over a decade. It was liberating as hell to write again in a low-stakes environment, and with blorbo motivation to power me through the difficult parts. I never, ever thought I would write anything longer than 2000 words, but for the past (several?) weeks now I've been alternating between two drafts in tropes I can't get enough of, the shortest of which is around 10,000 (admittedly unedited) words.

The other is longer, and every time I work on it I keep having to break shit up so the chapters stay under 5000 words. This is unprecedented for me, and I've wanted to share it so much that I'm running out of shit to post on WIP Wednesday that won't reveal the plot or require too much context. I've never been in a fandom as creative (and creatively inspiring) as this one, nor have I every written so much in a single fandom before.

My relationship with writing wouldn't be healing like this at all if it weren't for this show and this fandom, and in particular I want to highlight the freedom in embracing the "David Jenkins School of Historical Inaccuracy." In fact, I've been keeping a running list of AO3 tags for the fic I've made the most progress on, and there are several "David Jenkins School of ________" tags, including Archaeology, Theology, and Comparative Politics. Thanks to seeing DJ's philosophy at work it's now possible for me to move on from certain details when I get stuck because they're "inaccurate" for the setting or whatever in a way I never could before. Now I feel empowered to move on from tricky details by asking myself:

Is it funny?

Is it related to the plot?

Is it character-building?

And if the answer to all of those is no, then so is the answer to question 4: "does it matter?"

Assuming I finish these longfics they'll be the longest creative pieces I've ever written and beyond the longest works of fiction I ever thought I would write, and for that I'm eternally grateful. Even if the world we live in is a crumbling disaster. Especially if the world we live in is a crumbling disaster.

[bellysoupset]

I should be sleeping but I can't, so let's do this. You asked for my comments; it's only fair I deliver.

I decided to go in the order you posted the fics - focusing on the Max + Vin + Wen trio for now -, and the first one I'm going to comment on is the Vince's low blood sugar, 2-part masterpiece.

His reason for oversleeping? This man LOVES his girlfriend. He must have been exhausted but stayed up until Wendy herself was yawning 🥺

Then Soph came with the sharing clothes question. It was hilarious. I love her character. She is so mean sometimes and tries her best to act like she doesn't want to be associated with Vince, but if anyone was to hurt her family, I know she would come after them like there was no tomorrow. Poor girl was so worried when Vin fainted. She didn't want to leave him alone and even touched his cheek despite not being a touchy person. Baby 💔

I loved the build up until the collapse, but all those little details after the collapse had me melting. Like Max being soft with Soph to get her out of the room asap before he focused on Vince. And I live for Vince calling Soph and Liv bambi. That is so sweet. No wonder she melted. I love nicknames and petnames so much. I use a bunch with my own siblings all the time too.

Also Max pulling Vince's hair into a pony tail with his very own hair tie. Then telling Vin he didn't see him in the cafeteria. Max wanted to have lunch with Vince, didn't he?

Don't even get me started on the 'you remind me of my friend' 'a handsome one?' conversation between these two. Like okay, I know Vin and Wen are in a happy relationship already, but I'm rooting for Max. They might be happier as a trio, just sayin' 👀😂

I don't think I ever mentioned this, but I love Vin as a teacher. History is not my absolute favourite, but I kinda love it. I'm sure his classes would be cool to attend. I have seen Jojo Rabbit, will he accept my essay too? Joking aside, he is also great at it because he understands the kids' needs and actually listens when they ask for extended deadline or something.

Btw, I need to ask. Was Max knocking on the door and coming into the classroom because this time it was Vince who (accidentally) held the students back and made them late from Max' class? Because that would be so funny.

Oh Gosh, I've just realised how long this already is and I haven't even commented on the second part yet. I told you I won't be able to shut up.

Anyways, I love Max' humour and his absolute(ly adorable) cluelessness when it comes to caretaking. I'm not worried though, he is going to learn it pretty soon with the rest of the dumbasses coming into the picture.

But like, he brought Vin to the infirmary, drove him home, and tried his very best despite being distracted a little, so he is already on the right path.

Btw, I am sooo in for the idea of Mama Monacelli inviting Max to dinner and going all out not to make his sensitive tummy hurt, and just basically adopting him like she did with Leo. 🥰🥰

Alright, I'm shutting up now. Gonna come back in further asks to comment on the other fics later though. You are going to get so tired of me by the time I finish flooding your inbox 🙈

Have a nice day / evening Soup 💞

- 💜

I'm SO not sorry I deterred your night, I wanna be but I'm really not 😂

Vince is so in love with this girl, I sometimes think I don't make it clear enough because they're not as dramatic about it as Luke & Bell are.

Also yes, Sophia would tear anyone who hurt her family to shreds!! I love writing mean girls sooo much, its the best of fun.

Vince would absolutely let you hand in your essay on Jojo and maybe even add a sticker or some funny notes on the edge. In my head Vince is not meant to teach teens/adults though, not at all. He's made to teach the little ones!

Max WAS outside because Vince held up the teens! In my first draft of the story I actually switched POV halfway through, because I really wanted to have Max annoyed that Vin had held them up and going there to rescue them, only to see Vince collapsing and freaking out.

I solved that by keeping the "flashback" in part 2, but I guess it makes part 1 a bit confusing 😂 I also had a whole line that I forgot to add, that was Max staring at Vince and just being 🤨🤨 "why is your shirt so tight? Whore" since Vin/Luke do not wear the same size!

I imagine Mama Monacelli is going to be very very mindful of Max's sensitive tummy and then he'll get sick either way, because he winds up eating too much 😭

Oh btw, I downloaded the movie, gonna watch tonight! I'll let you know tomorrow what I thought, but I looked at letterbox and it was SO WILD compared to what you described lol

[chayscribbles]

chayscribbles’ monthly writing update ☆ february 2023

☆ STATISTICS.

words written: 11 606

projects worked on: Andromeda Rogue; The Gemini Heist; and a Third, Secret WIP

proudest accomplishment: i'm about halfway through with AR1 draft 2! and i finished like, a bunch of drawings

books read: Architects of Memory by Karen Osborne; All Systems Red (Murderbot Diaries #1) by Martha Wells;

☆ GENERAL COMMENTS.

why do i feel like i wrote a lot less than i actually did. like i looked at my total and thought "now that can't be right... there's no way i wrote that much."

things are going better for some wips (AR) than they are for others (GH) so maybe my head is cancelling it out lol.

reading comments: Architects of Memory was basically "a corporate war over alien weapons featuring messy sapphics in space" and i liked it but it wasn't quite a coup de coeur, 4/5 stars. All Systems Red was an absolute delight, 5/5 stars, will be reading the rest of the series once my holds on Libby come through.

(also i started reading Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo this past weekend, and i blame it + it's precursor Ninth House for putting me in the mood to work on Third Secret WIP lately, as Ninth House is partially responsible for the genre shift in Third Secret WIP.)

more specific wip-related comments + featured excerpt below.

☆ COMMENTS: ANDROMEDA ROGUE (draft 2)

i'm about halfway through this draft! i've passed 40k this month!

things are going super well. when i have the magical combo of time and energy and motivation to write i can get through scenes pretty easily, now that i don't have to worry about overall plot as much. plus i get to add little things here and there to beef it up.

i've mostly worked on the second act this month, which is where the team really starts going through things together.

there's one particular Azami chapter right before the midpoint that's a monster of lore-dropping. i had to rework it several times as i had an entire page of editing notes to make sure everything is coherent... and i'm still not entirely sure i've gotten it right 😭

☆ COMMENTS: THE GEMINI HEIST (outlining / draft 0.5)

not much to say about this one. didn't work on it as much. the plot for this wip continues to frustrate me. i'll find myself coming up with little ideas for the characters and the world... but when i try to sit down and come up with actual scenes and plot, my brain turns to soup.

☆ COMMENTS: THIRD, SECRET WIP

this wip is consuming me. devouring me with its teeth. i'm surprised to find i may actually have a plot. turns out letting it hibernate for 3 years and tweaking with the genre has done some good.

i might cave and post an intro in the next month. stay tuned...

☆ FEATURED EXCERPT.

this is from the like, one scene i wrote for gemini heist this month. i just think it's funny. for context, Leo and Gabi are trying to get access to some archives in a university library, and are posing as students.

As [Leo and the archivist] talked, Gabi slipped her hand into the pocket of her ridiculous jacket. Her fingers closed around a small round device. She glanced around. While Leo was doing a great job at keeping the archivist distracted, the commotion had caught the attention of nearly everyone in the room.

Just be normal, she told herself. She inched her hand out of her pocket.

“Which archives exactly do you need access to?” [the archivist] asked.

“Art of the early Viheldan Empiric era,” Leo said. “My paper is on the Gemini statuettes.”

“Ah, that might be why. You need a special authorization form from a professor or another faculty member to access those.”

Leo pouted. “But my professor said he got access for me!”

“Perhaps you can message him—”

“Ugh— can’t you just call him right now and ask? I don’t have time for this.”

“Alright. I’ll give him a call.”

Shit. Gabi wasn’t ready. She fumbled to take out the device, concealing it as best as she could in the palm of her hand. All she needed was to place it on the archivist’s computer terminal without him seeing a thing before he made that call.

The archivist’s fingers hovered over the screen for a second before pressing an icon at the bottom. With a starburst motion of his hand, he expanded a search window and began typing in the name of the professor. Panicking, Gabi slammed the device in her hand onto the side of the terminal.

The already quiet room went completely silent. All eyes turned towards her. The archivist’s were wide and stunned. Leo’s were sharp and furious.

“I, uh,” Gabi sputtered, awkwardly keeping her hand glued to the terminal. The device whirred to life, vibrating softly under her palm. “I-I thought I saw a bug.”

☆ TAGLISTS. let me know if you want to be added/removed to any of them.

general taglist:

@nicola-writes @dgwriteblr @the-orangeauthor @retrogayyde @quilloftheclouds @ashen-crest @writeblrfantasy @celestepens @stardustspiral @pepperdee @extra-magichours @avi-why @lefttigerobservation @chazzawrites @bardolatrycore @innocentlymacabre

andromeda trilogy taglist:

@bebewrites @nicola-writes @dgwriteblr @the-orangeauthor @retrogayyde @akindofmagictoo @quilloftheclouds @nora-theteawriter @ashen-crest @corpsepng @writeblrfantasy @toboldlywrite @celestepens @stardustspiral @pepperdee @cheerfulmelancholies @extra-magichours @writeouswriter @cilly-the-writer @lefttigerobservation @rose-bookblood @drowsy-quill @chazzawrites @cynic-and-chief @enchanted-lightning-aes @aesa

gemini heist taglist:

@florraisons @akindofmagictoo @cream-and-tea @nicola-writes @memento-morri-writes @antique-symbolism @rose-bookblood @afoolandathief @pepperdee @avi-why @zonnemaagd @chazzawrites @analogued @enchanted-lightning-aes @innocentlymacabre @kahvilahuhut @celestepens @cilly-the-writer @extra-magichours @retrogayyde

[tomatosoupgroup]

HELLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO HELLO HELLO HELLO HELLO (hello)

welcome to screen shot saturday video gamers

it's ya girl

callie

let's get right into the updates!

except...

i. i had a VERY busy week. school has been metaphorically beating my metaphorical ass metaphorically

so i uh.

don't really have a lot to show this week.

so what do we do??? do we cancel screenie saturday???

NO

you FOOL

THE SHOW MUST GO ON

and i have an idea for how it could!

remember these equations?

these are the equations for the amount of hp an enemy spawns in with and the amount of exp an enemy gives upon defeat respectively

the first and third from the top are the originals, while the second and fourth are simplified versions.

this may seem complicated! that's probably because it is.

you know i'm not constantly doing the same equations by hand. that would be fucking terrible. so how do i do all this?

INTRODUCING....

THIS PYTHON CODE I WROTE LAST WEEK!

it's a bit complex, but it can all be explained in this four step process...

it'll ask for all the important variables. (min/max lvl an enemy can spawn with, min/max effort values, infection status, etc etc)

then, it'll run them through the equations, and output the result!

that's it!

no seriously. that's it.

also apparently i wrote an equation for how much damage an enemy can do, but it seems like i didn't write it down for whatever reason...?

thanks past callie you rock

i guess i'll spend the rest of my post talking about a bit of a concern of mine.

you may have noticed that when I'm writing, I write properly. but when i'm typing my tweets or gamedev updates, i kinda...don't.

that has made me feel a bit conscious, i may be implying that i'm not the one writing, or something like that.

let's clear things up with a little QnA with yours truly!:

Q: Why do you type properly when writing, but improperly when posting?

A: writing stuff out takes time! i usually feel like posting (ESPECIALLY tweeting) is like a spur-of-the-moment kinda deal. like it's a quick thought that i convert to words.

Q: But why the gamedev updates?

A: first of all, i feel like there's two types of brand (Disclaimer: Tomato Soup Group is not a legally defined brand.) accounts:

the ones who act all professional and proper

the ones who act silly to gain attention

while i can see the approach for both options, i'm not really a big fan of either one.

but you see, dear reader. i have been blessed with an aspect that i have not revealed to you yet.

when companies (Disclaimer: Tomato Soup Group is not a legally defined company.) try strategy number 2, they're trying to appeal to a specific audience.

y'know, "hEy!!!!!!!! we're cool too!!! we're just like you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! buy our product"

let's call this audience the "twitter freaks" cuz this mainly happens on twitter

i mean, i would know.

because I AM A TWITTER FREAK MYSELF.

THAT'S RIGHT. THAT'S FUCKING RIGHT

READ EM AND WEEP CHAT.

I GET A FREE PASS!

AND IT'S ALL BECAUSE (Disclaimer: Tomato Soup Group is not a legally defined brand, business, and/or company. For that reason, the main head of the group, Callie, is able to remain as a part of her own audience. This is literally just how she acts.)

Q: Do you use AI for any part of the project?

A: i use it to clean up spotty code occasionally.

it's always a last resort. like an "UGHHHHHHHHH IM SO TIRED BUT I GOTTA GET THIS WORKING BEFORE I GO TO BEDDDDDD" situation.

the code the ai generates is also seen as a "placeholder" of sorts, as most of that code must be rewritten for it to work perfectly.

tldr: i use it for quick patches to my spaghetti code, and that's about it.

Q: Do you use AI to write your work?

A: NO. i would never let my work be tainted by soulless hands.

Q: Do you have other writers?

A: nope! i will accept suggestions, but ultimately, all writing will be done by me and me only.

to clarify, i'm not against the idea of having other writers!! that's fine and valid.

but i feel like (and this may sound silly) i'm the only one who truly understands these characters.

although it may not seem like it right now, these characters have an EXTREME amount of depth to them.

so much so, that i feel like their story is worth sharing.

that's why i always sound so excited when updating!!!!! because it's actually how i feel for these characters.

i hope that one day in the future, i'll be able to show you the true magnitude of the depths.

Q: Why do all the characters have Japanese names?

A: oh, that's a simple one! a lot of the game is inspired by jpop, and the names are just kind of a reference to that.

i'm not intending to misappropriate a culture i am not a part of, i'm just a really big fan of jpop. i put it on whenever i do any work.

and then i do that neurodivergent thing where i imagine an animated music video involving my characters

like, for example:

i've been listening to お気に召すまま by Eve. (Also known by its English title: As You Like It) a lot lately.

i recommend you give this a listen:

from what i can tell, the song is about the complex emotions that the main character experiences when trying to confess to a girl. the hand man represents a part of him he doesn't like, the other versions of himself represent the other sides of his personality, etc. etc.

now THIS COULD BE WRONG. but if it's true, then i feel like this song would really resonate with rikiyo.

he would relate to how the main character's emotions seem to get in the way, because he's going through something similar.

he's scared to tell toshi he loves him for many reasons, one of which being his own emotions.

oops! hope i didn't give too much away there!

anyways thatll be it for tonight

sorry for the lack of progress, i'll try to get some done during this week!

love you all

-Callie

[zenaidamacrouras1]

Oooh, ask game! I am also looking for distractions, yet cannot focus enough to get absorbed in anything, so let's go! (Obviously only answer as much or as little of this as you feel like):

I feel like I've read your answers to most of the actual asks before. Maybe not 🪄?

I'd love to request Bishova ficlets, but have no prompts to offer.

You mentioned reading up on experiences of recognizing one's orientation later in life - were there any stories that especially stayed with you, or any common threads that surprised you?

What to share any thoughts on Becca's post-US life?

Yes after I posted it I realized I may have posted it already. And yay distractions!

what is your post-writing/sharing aftercare? How do you take care of yourself or celebrate yourself when you've finished a fic?

Oh my gosh. Well Unpredictable Synchronicity has been my most popular fic by far so reading the comments and replying has been a nice way to fill their weirdness. It's definitely a big nervous energy! I do write my author's notes with random reflections and try to be reflect in how I grew with the fic.

You mentioned reading up on experiences of recognizing one's orientation later in life - were there any stories that especially stayed with you, or any common threads that surprised you?

This won't surprise anyone but there is a lot of shame around virginity which is awful. I was a bit of a late bloomer and didn't kiss anyone till my second semester of college (and then got mono/Epstein Barr from the first person I kissed, fucking classic) and I was very anxious about my sexual inexperience to the point that I had panic attacks (this was in a soup with US Evangelical Purity culture which I am a survivor of that - like 1. Why haven't I had sexual experiences am I unlovable and 2. If I have sexual experiences I am an unlovable monster)(lalala).

So I really like exploring virginity in my fics because it is so vulnerable and it's a lovely fun thing to write first times. The thing I learned when I was in my sluttier phase is that some people are better at kissing and sex than others and experience is not always a factor in that. ANYWAY! That's not what you asked.

So my favorite stories where very much like Steve's which were like "I never really let myself think about sex for (life reasons and/or because I was queer) and then I started yearning for it and was really nervous and now I feel really good about my sex life" - some of these people were 30 or 40 or 50 or 60 etc when they acknowledged that part of themselves, which is both very sad because usually it's because they were queer and closeted but also lovely they found this new source of joy! That's what I was looking for - examples of people who had for various reasons ignored their sexuality because that's how I pictured Steve and I wanted to see first hand examples of that.

I didn't want it to be like Bucky was so handsome he magically gave Steve a sexuality but more like Steve is finally in a place where he can go to a hierarchy of needs beyond survival, and also in a place where he can be more subconsciously comfortable acknowledging that he finds men attractive, and he starts to be curious about the sexual side of himself.

So to make sure I wasn't falling into that cliche I wanted to read about real people who had a similar arc.

Bucky is coincidentally nearby and very interesting to Steve as he starts to slowly realize his body maybe isn't just for fighting Nazis. I think if Bucky hadn't turned up Steve would have dated someone else and still come out of the closet because he was going down that rabbit hole.

Another trend is I wish more people had the asexual label available to them as many stories to me read as Ace (aka lots of stories like I am 40 and never had sex and honestly don't care or want to am I broken? No you aren't!). Like we need to acknowledge that sex is not the only interesting thing in life and it's really normal if people don't do it or rarely do.

Another trend is obviously lookism, and people saying they aren't conventionally attractive enough to attract a partner which is a whole thing I want to acknowledge but don't have the spoons to write about because waaaahhh the world sucks.

A last trend is sexual trauma. I have a friend who had a lot of severe sexual trauma and no interest in sex. Her first husband was asexual which was a great fit for her. But they divorced and now she is trying to find her place in that and her sexuality with a new partner who she is shocked to realize she wants to have sex with in her early 40s but her body is also terrified of sex so it's a whole thing.

Anyway, to me sex is like food. People build shrines to food and get really into it, and honestly I do not know why it's so boring. I fucking hate cooking and find eating a chore. Except when I don't. I occasionally enjoy a really good meal. I love Thai but don't really feel sad if I go a year without eating it.

So that is seen as fairly normal re: food, but people who feel a similar ambivalence towards sex are seen as really missing out and I think that is dumb.

This is a VERY long way of answering your question but those were some of the themes.

What to share any thoughts on Becca's post-US life?

I think Becca stays single for a long time. I kept trying to imagine her with different partners and none of them stuck. She has a great career and awesome friends and she and Bucky stay roommates and Bucky and Steve split their time between the Tower and Bucky's house for pretty much forever.